Patricia Morales

Patricia Morales for Lost Hairdressers from Lost Hairdressers on Vimeo.

You see? Pretty tough. I learned many valuable lessons that day. Both technique wise and reality check wise. YUP. Anyway, Laurent is a meticulous. old school, hairdresser. I might almost say, to a fault, but what do I know? We did another show after this one where we had to fashion a fake section of fringe (bangs) to models who had no fringe. The painstaking way he went about doing this seemed much harder than was necessary to acquire the desired look but thats how he wanted it, and thats how it got done. There is no doubt that Laurent’s skills are beyond fine tuned. He is eye for hair is intimidatingly precise, only matched by his dexterity. I was scouring the internet for a good bio on him as well as some good general information. I came across this interview on The Ground Mag. I thought it was so good and so inspiring that I would copy and paste a few little tidbits (Yeah, I just said “tidbits”), and let you go read the rest of the interview if you so choose. It is accompanied by some amazing images of his work. Also check out Laurent’s Tumblr as well as his work on his Agency’s website Tim Howard Management. 

The Ground Mag:

When did your passion for hair styling emerge?

I grew up in a very small village in the Alps, with a father who owned a barber shop. It wasn’t until my military service that I thought I would ever leave my small town for Paris. The decisions I made there have turned me into what I am today.

So it was 1989; I was in Paris serving the country as a firefighter. I realized, while working for Alexandre de Paris on my days off, that I wanted to become a studio hair stylist. Alexandre de Paris was revered in the field for his classic techniques he used on such celebrities as Brigitte Bardot and Jackie Kennedy. He taught me techniques that are very rare in the field today, sort of the “old school” methods of hair styling, an expertise that has helped my career ever since.

So I got hired by Alexandre de Paris in 1990 after my military service, before I met hair stylist Julien d’Ys, who was famous for the hairstyle of Comme des Garcons. He was a true artist, a hair stylist as well as a painter and a sculptor, bringing the hair styling world a touch of fantasy and creation. This is what I could consider the other main aspect of my personal work.

In 1994, I started as a freelance studio hair stylist, offering the industry my own unique style, influenced by two essential schools in hair styling.

What have been your greatest and most difficult moments as a hair stylist?

As hair stylists, there is no time for us to be stars. Your line of work demands you be in a constant analysis of your work, in constant doubt of doing a good job, facing either gratitude from colleagues or deception. So I would say being a hair stylist involves always seeking improvement in one’s work, always moving forward with one’s skills.

What is it like to collaborate with such heavyweights as David LaChapelle, Steven Klein, Patrick Demarchelier, Ellen von Unwerth, French Vogue, and Carine Roithfield?

I would say it has got to do with the creator’s vision. Of course it depends on the photographer, but collaboration in this line of work is about sharing a common vision for the final result, meaning as a hair stylist you have to submerge yourself in one’s vision, to adapt it while bringing your unique touch. Photographers often are passionate individuals for whom every shot is of the utmost importance; we are therefore in a constant quest for new techniques and inspiration to fulfill this common vision.

Is it difficult to work with Laurent Philippon?

Well like most, you need to go through a selection with my agent, as my line of work enters the realm of fashion politics, in which prestige needs to be maintained.

How do you feel about delegating work to assistants, employees? Isn’t it hard to trust others with your nametag on a hairstyle?

I have absolute trust in the people I work with. I have mostly worked with them for a long time, I therefore know their qualities and weaknesses very well, which makes it easier to work as a team. As for the organization part of our work, for a fashion show, everything is extremely well organized, the hairstyles are all programmed and chosen in advance and of course everything is timed to the second. For a shoot, things are rather different. The stylist and photographer usually already have a strong idea of how they want the hair to look like; my job then is to work with the stylists and photographers to give them the best hairstyle based on what I believe they are looking for.

What message would you give young people hoping to pursue the same career path you have?

I believe the key in this line of work is one’s aptitude to absorb as much culture as possible. Through cinema, photography, and fashion, one should record as many images as one can. The key concept here is immersion into a particular time or style in order to create or recreate the desired impression.

Interview by LAURENT ALTIER for The Ground Mag

Odile Gilbert

Biography (Wikipedia)

She started her career in 1975 as first assistant to the famous hairstylist Bruno Pittini, in his salon and studio. Working along with Pittini allowed her to meet celebrities and work on fashion shows and advertising photo shoots.
In 1982, she moved to New York and started working for fashion and beauty editorials in famous fashion magazines with big photographers such as Richard Avedon, Helmut Newton, Herb Ritts, Irving Penn, Steven Klein, Peter Lindbergh, Jean-Baptiste Mondino and Paolo Roversi, among others.

Renowned fashion and perfume houses, such as Calvin Klein, Lancôme, Giorgio Armani and Jean-Paul Gaultier, entrusted her with styling the hair of models in their advertising campaigns. Her best known work was on fashion shows, on which she worked in tight co-operation with the designers, in some cases for many years.

In 2000, she opened her own agency in Paris, l’atelier(68), to take care of her career and also represent new talents to the beauty industry. In 2001, she created her hair accessory line, Odile Gilbert Créations. In 2003, she published Her Style, Hair by Odile Gilbert, prefaced by Karl Lagerfeld. In 2005, Sofia Coppola calls her to do the Art Direction of the main character of her next movie, played by Kirsten Dunst, Marie-Antoinette. In 2006 she received from Renaud Donnedieu de Vabres, the French Minister of Culture and Communications, the honorable insignia of Chevalier des Arts et des Lettres. To date, she is the only female hairstylist with this honour. In 2007, the Costume Institute of the Metropolitan Museum of New York bought for their permanent collection one of the top hats made of natural hair she created for Jean Paul Gaultier’s Haute-Couture AW 2006 show.

New York Times:

“I love to be backstage and in the background,” she said as she slicked a dab of pomade into the model’s backswept hair. “For me what’s important is to forget about yourself.”

“A fixture in the Paris fashion world for a decade or more, Ms. Gilbert is one of the most respected hair stylists in the business. She is also among the most self-effacing.”

“Indeed, Ms. Gilbert is a deft interpreter of other designers’ visions, and has lent her sleight of hand in collections as diverse as those of Karl Lagerfeld, Giorgio Armani and John Galliano.“

“She is known for eschewing trends and defying categorization. Her low-key demeanor may not suggest a wild streak, but it is most certainly there, and she has freely indulged it over the years.“

“In the late ’90s, for instance, she created a fretwork of twigs crowning Linda Evangelista, a style that gave Ms. Evangelista the look of a tortured saint. Around the same time, she expressed her fantastical vision in the elaborately plaited “horns” she sculptured for the model Alek Wek, giving her the fierceness of a bull about to charge.“

For John Galliano, she created the aqua-tinted corkscrew curls that turned his models into 18th-century cocottes, and for Jean Paul Gaultier she once topped a cluster of unruly curls with a miniature galleon. Working with Sofia Coppola on the 2006 film “Marie Antoinette,” she practiced a kind of confectioner’s art, fashioning styles that looked like towering pastries.”

“Odile treats hair like an art form,” Mr. Wang said Saturday, adding that she can also create “something very pragmatic.”

“In many ways, she said, her job is “like cooking. You use products. You create different shapes and textures. You are working from a recipe, like you are creating a pastry.”

W Magazine 

How did you get your start?

I graduated from hair school in Brittany, where I grew up, and moved to Paris in the early seventies. I began assisting Bruno Pittini, who was working at his salon and on magazine shoots, movies, and in theater.

What was the first shoot you did on your own?

It was with Helmut Newton for French Elle, and I didn’t sleep at all the night before. I really didn’t know what I was doing—I was so young. But I must have done a good job because I continued working with the editors.

If you couldn’t be a hairstylist, what would you be?

A photographer, or even a painter! I have always loved photography, and that is why I love doing hair on set. I remember walking into Richard Avedon’s studio for the first time, and there was his famous portrait Dovima With Elephants—it was an Oh, my God! moment.

Where do you find inspiration?

I’ve always been inspired by my travels. It’s all about getting to know different cultures. Now, with the Internet, you just push a button for pictures—and voilà!

Click here to view the embedded video.

Saying yes afforded me the opportunity to work with a couple of amazing hairdressers. As soon as I realized who it was, I knew I had made the right decision. Not only was I going to be able to work with Duffy, but I was also going to be working with Laurent Philippon and Neil Moodie. If you know these names, you know they are well known for their work in the industry. This only added to the stress, but my anticipation as far as what I had the opportunity to learn, and who I had to learn it from, was enough to diffuse any reluctance lurking in the recesses of my mind.

The first day on the job I had two shows with Laurent Philippon. The first was Lacoste and the second was Herve Leger. I was staying all the way in Brooklyn, Bushwick, to be more specific. I wasnt going to take a chance to navigate the train system wrong at 5am so I took a cab and got there by our 6:30am call time. Walking in, I see no familiar faces, not that I expected to but you never know. The first person I talk to was Ivan who regularly assists Laurent and is a stylist for Bumble. He really couldnt be nicer and got me set up and pointed me in the right direction. Laurent showed up and demonstrated the look for us and we got to work. After that we had a lunch break and came back to work on the looks for Herve Leger which quickly put me in my place as a hairdresser. Laurent effortlessly demonstrated this look. I had recently been practicing my braiding which I had never really done before. Who knew we needed to practice? I made one attempt and to my surprise, I didnt do too bad. Unfortunately Laurent said and I quote: “You either can cornrow or you can’t. If you are not confident, do not try. This is no time for experimentation.” So, I took a step back and let the pros work.

Herve Leger

Herve Leger

The next day I worked with Duffy on Custo Barcelone, and as Ive stated before, he is ridiculously cool and really makes you feel comfortable when youre working on his team. The look was fairly simple and unfortunately, I was not able to get any pictures.

The next day was Wes Gordon and Karen Walker with Laurent again. Basically he asked us to make Dreads on these girls using hairspray and back combing. We were all thinking we were finishing our own looks but then Laurent would steal your model and make them look amazing. He never lead on for a moment that we were just prepping these girls for his finishing touches. Touche Laurent…. Touche….

Wes Gordon – Shot by Jane Houle

Wes Gordon – Shot by me:) Look at that Pirate on the right! ARRRRRRRR

Panoramic shot of the presentation.

After that we did Naeem Kahn with Neil Moodie. The look was clean and fairly simple in concept but the execution was no picnic. Adding hair to the pony tails proved to be a matter of trial and error but we eventually got it right. Neil is a really sweet and talented guy, he was great to work with.

Naeem Khan

Naeem Khan

Naeem Khan

Naeem Khan

Naeem Khan

Naeem Khan

Naeem Khan

The last show I did was BROOD with Duffy. Just looking at these pictures will make your fingers cramp up. The whole week was an educational experience. If your goal is to do this some day, I very much suggest coming out to New York and assisting some of these great artists. Your work will never be the same.

Amazing photo of Duffy working on a model. By Jane Houle

Brood

Duffy for Brood

Brood

Clint Mattoni for Lost Hairdressers from Lost Hairdressers on Vimeo.

Makeup: Natalie Franz

Photography: Leo Krumbacher

Art Direction: Gregor Vykruta

Hair: Clint Mattoni

Makeup: Kimberlee Barlow

Photography: Aaron Lippman

Styling: Laura Mazza

Hair/Makeup: Greg Wencel

Photography: Chris Nicholls

Fashion Editor: Fiona Green